


Trial and Error

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [38]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Day Six - Mythical Creatures, F/M, klarolineauweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 14:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6570220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Cupid and Psyche</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trial and Error

_"They say she is the most beautiful maiden in the world."_

_"Some swear she must be the second coming of Venus."_

_"I heard she is an ill-begotten daughter of Venus herself, with a mere mortal even."_

Rebekah stomped, angry at her formal name being held in such slander. "Nik, my reputation is being maligned, and I demand retribution," she complained.

"You're more than capable of doling out such punishment yourself, sister," Klaus sighed, annoyed that his sister's Venus troubles must interfere with his own duties as Cupid. He was just sharpening an arrow for just such an assignment when Rebekah tore it from his hand. He hissed at the scratch left by the arrow.

"I want her dead, or maimed," Rebekah yelled. "Anything to get the people paying me the proper attention again."

Rolling his eyes, Klaus snatched the arrow from her hand to put it back in his quiver. "If it will make you quiet, I'm willing to try," he said meanly, grabbing his bow on his way out.

* * *

Caroline was busy collecting flowers from the woods when her sisters happened upon her.

"Oh, Caroline," Katerina greeted with a mock sigh. "Playing with the flowers again?"

"I was going to make crowns for us all," Caroline defended, stiffening at Elena's giggle. The twins were older, and often used their camaraderie to tear down their baby sister. "Father wants us to go to the temple, and I thought they would be pleasing to Venus."

"But people don't worship Venus when you're around," Elena teased, venom clear in her tone. Though quite beautiful themselves, the twins were seen as only half as lucky as their golden-haired sister. They had already found husbands, but Caroline's inability to find love had become the curse of the house. "Not that it matters, since Father doesn't think you'll be married anyway."

Caroline rolled her eyes, turning away from her sisters and their ire. She heard them laughing behind her, but she focused on making her way to the falls deep within the woods. Very little good had come from her beauty, especially with her sisters' cutting remarks always at the ready. All Caroline wanted was a chance to get out and away from it all, to live her own life free of others' expectations.

When she finally reached the falls, Caroline dropped the flowers where she sat. The sound of rushing water calmed her as she braided the flowers into a crown.

Unbeknownst to her, Klaus watched her from the trees. The dappled sunlight hit her hair just so, and he itched to sketch the image her dainty fingers made among the blossoms. His hand throbbed where the arrow had scratched him, but Klaus paid it no mind.

He just watched the pretty girl making a flower crown, falling a bit more in love each second.

* * *

It took many promises, but finally the West Wind brought Caroline to the meadow near his home without Rebekah's knowledge. It was a difficult business to conceal his trickery from his vengeful sister, but as Klaus watched the girl awake from her magical slumber, he felt his pains entirely worth their result.

From an attic in his resplendent manor, he carefully looked on as Caroline explored the meadow before treading up to the house. She would not be safe from his sister until such a time that Rebekah could not tear her away. The only solution Klaus could think of was to wait until Caroline was with child, for even Rebekah would not dare to lay hand on her then.

With her vast powers, though, Klaus had to be cautious in hiding from his sister's anger. Even Caroline saying his name out loud would be enough to draw Rebekah's attention. He felt in his heart he couldn't lie to the beautiful mortal that held his heart, so a false name wouldn't suffice.

"Hello," a fragile voice called out, echoing in the marble hallways. "Hello?"

Klaus desperately wanted to go to her, but he hadn't figured out a way to keep her. All he knew was that he needed to.

"Welcome, Caroline," he replied, tapping into his powers to let his voice carry throughout the house. "Do you know why you are here?"

* * *

The whole situation ought to have seemed odd, but for everything else that happened in Caroline's life, she found it best to make do with what she had. And upon waking in a gorgeous meadow, she discovered she had a beautiful mansion ripe for exploring. The disembodied voice who obviously expected her was just another oddity in her very short life.

She pondered the question only for a minute, trying to remember what she could. "I'm dead," she realized. "My father heard a prophecy that I was to give birth to a demon, and he had rather I die before I could curse the family. Is this the Underworld?"

"No, the voice answered, though Caroline could find no source of the sound. "I brought you here, to live with me."

Caroline sighed, familiar with the offers of crude men who saw only her pretty face. "I'm too smart to be seduced by a mysterious voice, even one so blessed by the gods to save me from death," she said. "Why should I not leave for the Underworld right this minute?"

* * *

Klaus froze. He loved her, but she did not love him. She had no reason to love him, and he could not even use the advantage of Cupid's famously beautiful visage. Rebekah would descend upon them before he could protect Caroline.

"I am afraid I have no good answer," he admitted softly. "I only wished to know you, and your father took you away before I could. This was the only way I could keep you."

"But you would let me go?"

Heart clenched, Klaus nodded, despite being alone in the attic. "If you wished," he answered, silently praying she didn't. "But the girl I know is stronger than that. Take a chance, Caroline. I dare you."

* * *

Her breath caught, unsure at the odd proposition. Looking around the beautiful home, it seemed like it was waiting for her. Just her style, filled with flowers. It couldn't be worse than the home she left behind, nor surely what would happen if she fully embraced her death.

She could live in the in-between for a while.

"What's your name," she asked, needing something, anything to go on. _Give me a reason to trust you_ , she prayed.

A hesitant pause had Caroline stiffening with suspicion, until a bereaved sigh sounded in her ears. "I can't tell you yet, but it will come in time."

Biting her lip, she considered the statement. "Does that mean I could guess?"

That earned her a chuckle. "I suppose, love," the voice answered. "Though I bet you won't."

"You shall pay for that wager," she teased, already moving to explore her home.

* * *

He learned everything about her, watching her every move and enjoying nearly constant conversation. At night, when the lights went out, all he wanted was to hold her and whisper all his secrets. It had been weeks of excruciating restraint, and Klaus couldn't take any more waiting.

She had bedded down for the night, and he finally had a proposition ready. "Caroline," he asked softly into the darkness. "Are you asleep, sweetheart?"

"No, Sebastian," she giggled, another wrong guess at his name.

He moved closer, settling on the bed. Klaus could hear her breath hitch in surprise, surely feeling his weight so near. "Might I stay with you, for a while at least?"

"I can't see you," she said, craning her neck in the perfect darkness.

"I know," he answered. It was a common point of contention in their weeks of cohabitation, her inability to see him and know who he is. "But I could hold you. Would that be all right?"

She was quiet, which worried him. "Would you still be there in the morning, and I could see you then," she asked, her voice small and wanting.

"Not yet, my love," he whispered, already pulling away. She didn't want him if she couldn't have all of him, he knew that.

* * *

The weight on the bed was shifting away, and Caroline feared he would leave altogether. "No," she cried, scrambling to reach out into the darkness. She was surprised to grab a forearm, strong and warm in her hand. Her hand ran up, finding more skin on the expanse of his chest. No fabric impeded her exploration, and the blood in her veins felt like fire.

"Stay," she whispered, running her hands in his hair, down his back. She pulled him toward her, not sure what it was she needed from him. All she could think was _more_.

* * *

He couldn't help it, not when she was so open with her desire. And she desired _him_. Not his face, not his power or status. Just him.

And so he gave, he gave her everything of himself. His kisses were slow, deep, and full of love he didn't even know existed. She gave just as much, if not more in the fact that she trusted him implicitly with her body and her very soul. She was the first to inch up her nightgown, the one to remove his coverings.

As always, it would be her choice.

Later, she fell asleep on his chest with her curls matted in the sweat of their lovemaking. He felt so complete, it broke his heart to leave her there before the sun could rise and ruin everything.

* * *

Rebekah scoffed as she watched the twins pass by her temple. For being so hard on their sister, they still did nothing to garner Venus's good faith. She hated the girl on sight, and she ought to have felt some camaraderie with these sisters in such agreement. Instead, they babbled on about the ill way their father had disposed of this Caroline.

She knew her brother better than he would ever admit, and she was on better terms with the West Wind who brought the girl to his doorstep. It had been weeks, and Niklaus was lying to her all the while. Determined to end his folly, she would make the girl break his trust and have her cast out once and for all.

A gust of wind dropped a candle in front of the twins, and they felt compelled to buy it.

"Caroline would just love this," Katerina declared, picking it up.

"We should burn it for her," Elena agreed.

They had no idea Rebekah was orchestrating the opportunity for them to gift it directly to their dead sister.

* * *

"I love you," he whispered before leaving her bed again.

She grumbled in her sleep, seeking his warmth and settling for his pillow. He couldn't keep his secret much longer, which was likely why he accepted Rebekah's summons to visit. With a final glance to Caroline, Klaus swept out of the room and the mansion altogether to meet his sister.

"It's been weeks, Nik," Rebekah pouted, welcoming her brother. "Am I to assume your attention has been diverted from your most hated duties and your doting sister?"

"Bekah," he warned, wondering if Caroline was already in danger.

"Relax," she sighed. "Whatever soul you have stolen from the Underworld means nothing to me. But you can't keep them forever, you know, especially since you stole them."

Klaus bristled at the accusation, hitting too close to home. "I love her," he admitted.

"But is she happy," Rebekah asked. "Does she know you only love her under the effects of your damned arrows? And what of her family, don't they deserve to know her fate is not below the earth?"

He turned to leave, but Rebekah smirked in triumph. The seeds of doubt had been sown, and her brother would fall in line at last. She was Venus, and she would be second to no one.

* * *

"Do you miss your family?"

The question struck Caroline as odd. In the months she had stayed with the nameless voice, they spoke of every subject ever considered - except for her family.

"I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "My sisters could be cruel, even with their best intentions. My father planned out my death for his own future. I still have fond memories of my mother, but I don't feel deprived. If that is what you are truly asking, anyway."

She was curled in front of a fire, the bright day too far from the voice for her comfort. Caroline busied herself with the various clothing provided for her, to add a personal touch. There she sat, making this more and more her home, only to freeze at a horrid thought. "Do you regret taking me from them?"

_Or at all?_

* * *

Klaus stared blankly, clearly seeing the fear on her face through his looking glass. "Of course not," he finally stuttered out, almost insulted at the implication. "I could never regret one moment with you, because it brought me here."

"Then why do you ask?"

"Because I want to marry you," he answered, surprising them both. "But I don't want you to agree simply because I stole you."

"You did," Caroline pointed out, though not unkindly. "I do not even know your name."

Hanging his head, Klaus prepared himself for the worst. She wanted to leave him, all because he had to open his mouth. Had he just used one of his arrows...but no, he couldn't do that to her.

"But I would still be honored to be your wife," she finished softly. "I do not know your name, but I know who you are. You're stubborn, possessive, demanding. But you're also kind, and loving in the most wonderful ways. I feel safe with you, in a way I never felt with my family."

"So," Klaus said, ready to offer a plan in the making since Rebekah fed his insecurities. "If I were to bring your sisters here…"

"I would send them home immediately, content to be with you," she responded.

Overcome with the sense of acceptance and love, Klaus could no longer restrain himself. He would deal with Rebekah's wrath at any cost to protect Caroline, but he wanted her to really know him. He stood so quickly, the looking glass toppled over in his haste to leave the attic and join her in the bright sitting room.

* * *

"Hello," she called out, concerned at the silence filling the mansion. Caroline worried she had finally scared him away, just when he had hoped to marry her. "Hello?"

"My love," the voice said, bouncing off the marble. It was much closer than she was used to, more...present. She turned toward the hallway, shocked to find a man rushing toward her. "Caroline," he called, and she knew it was him.

"Hello," she said again, weak at the sight of him at last. His burnished gold curls with a matching scruff glinting in the sunlight, blue eyes blazing into hers. Caroline scrambled to stand, reaching for his face when he stopped in front of her. She had stroked his cheeks many a night, but now she could _see_ him. "You're here."

"I am," he said, a little breathless at her bright smile.

She tilted her head, trying to connect his face with any in her recognitions. "I know you," she whispered, confused. "How do I know you?"

He remained silent, waiting for her to remember.

"Your face, it's in paintings," she said, shaking her head. "In Venus's temple."

Horrified, she stood back. "Are you hers?"

Laughing, he reached for her waist to keep her close. At her pointed glare, though, he forced his laughter down into an amused smile. "She is my sister, known to familiars as Rebekah."

"And you," she asked, desperate for the name she had missed for so long.

"Some would call me Cupid," he answered. "But my mother named me Niklaus. I prefer Klaus."

"Cupid," Caroline whispered, her heart both rising and falling with the answer. "Your arrows. Is that-"

Sighing, Klaus pulled them both down to the floor and cradled her in lap. "Please, call me Klaus," he insisted, stroking her hair as he longed to do. "I fear an arrow lead me to take you in the first place, but it is only for you that I remain so doggedly in love."

"How do you know," she asked quietly. She couldn't reconcile a child of the gods wanting to marry just _her_. "What if this is all a game?"

"Isn't it," a feminine voice asked from the entrance.

Surprised, both of them turned to find Venus herself staring them down. "Rebekah," Klaus greeted, standing in defense of Caroline. "You can't hurt her."

"So this is the beautiful Caroline, the reason my people have lost faith in my beauty and virtue," she accused, looking to the girl semi-hidden by her brother. At his inelegant snort, she turned her scowl back to him. "I'd thank you not to make petty jokes."

"Then don't make it so easy," he retorted, unamused with her threatening demeanor.

"You're the one hiding your strumpet," she said.

Caroline stood at that, but Klaus reached for her hand. "Soon to be my wife, if she'll have me," he said, a soft grin directed toward his love.

"You can't be serious," Rebekah gasped. "She's mortal."

"But already passed of the mortal plane," Klaus corrected for his judgmental sister.

Narrowing her eyes, Rebekah took in the slip of the girl melted into his back. "Why should I not kill you where you stand, imp?"

"Clearly, your brother's happiness isn't enough," Caroline snapped, showing teeth of her own among these siblings. "But perhaps yours is. I'm with child, your future niece or nephew. Killing me means killing your family."

Klaus turned to her, shocked. He carefully cupped her cheeks, pulling her closer than she already was. Though it had been his hope all along, the easiest way to protect her from Rebekah, the reality was too much to take in. "Marry me," he said again, smiling like a damned fool.

Even Rebekah lost all murderous urges at the sight of the girl brighter than the sun. "Well then," she sighed, moving toward the wine. "I need a drink."


End file.
